One couple’s creative approach to teaching their son about outlet safety didn’t quite go as planned—and their baby’s reaction has TikTok in stitches.
In a clip posted by mom Aspen Gore (@aspenbrooke) on TikTok, her 24-year-old husband, Adam, gets down on all fours, imitating the way his young son might crawl toward an electrical socket. He reaches out a finger and pretends to stick it in, then launches into a full-blown performance, wailing, shaking and dramatically collapsing to the floor as if electrocuted.
All the while, the real star of the show—their son—sits calmly on his mom’s lap, watching the scene with the stone-faced composure; no gasp, no giggle, no apparent concern.
“We saw another family create a similar video a few months ago and thought it was so funny,” Aspen, 25, told Newsweek.
“Randomly, we remembered that video and decided to try it,” she added. “We always prioritize our son’s safety, and thought this could be silly and fun way to ‘teach’ him. But we do have outlet covers on them at all times.”
@aspenbrooke
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that young children, particularly toddlers, experience electric shock most often when they poke metal objects such as forks or knives into unprotected outlets or appliances.
In the U.S., the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received numerous reports of injuries and fatalities associated with consumer products, including electrical hazards.
Aspen said her husband’s performance was pure theater. “My husband was acting like a child crawling to touch the outlet, and pretended to get electrocuted in a very dramatic manner,” she said.
Their baby’s response? “Our son was just surprised and confused. He really didn’t have that much of a reaction at all.”
Far from being disappointed, the couple found his indifference hilarious. “We thought his reaction was hilarious; he was very unfazed by it,” Aspen said. “My husband and I are silly and fun people, so our son is very used to us acting crazy.”
Aspen’s clip has been viewed over 12.8 million times and received a further 1.4 million likes. TikTok users found the baby’s reaction hilarious in the comments.
“That baby’s gonna be fuuuuuuuunny grown up,” one user wrote.
“No but why is this generation of parents is so unserious,” another user added.
A third commenter wrote: “Mama you can’t just sit there all calm you gotta SELL IT.”
The parents do hope the message eventually sinks in. “We, of course, hope he understands that outlets are dangerous and not something to play with,” Aspen said. “Right now, he’s too little to really get it, so we keep them covered and redirect when he goes near them.”